Languages

Immigration and national identity currently are at the forefront of the public conscience. In France, the burkini ban and in the UK proposals for migration controls following the Brexit vote are dividing communities. The growing tensions mean that many ethnic and religious minority communities are increasingly experiencing racism in their everyday lives.

But the term “Islamophobia” is somewhat confusing: it supports the idea that there is only one “Islam” and implies a “fear” of it. Some have argued for new, more accurate terms such as anti-Muslimism. Like the word itself, the phenomenon of Islamophobia is equally complex, and cannot be put neatly into a box. Here are some of the ways it affects everyday life.

1) It isn’t only experienced by Muslims

It is not only Muslims who are targeted by Islamophobic racism. A diverse range of people from different ethnic and religious minorities also encounter it on a daily basis, mostly as a result of people assuming that they are Muslims. Sikhs, Hindus, other south Asians, those with African heritages and even some central and eastern European migrants are all lumped into one category. This can make other religious and ethnic minorities insecure in public spaces, and in their everyday encounters with others.

In addition, our own research has found that the reporting of such events in the mainstream media contributes to the negative stereotyping of Muslims. We interviewed young people, aged 12 to 26, who claimed that references to Muslims as “extremists” and as a “threat” to British ways of life in the media skew the public’s perception of Muslim communities – despite frequent campaigns to challenge such negative associations.

3) It ignores the diversity of Muslim communities

Islamophobia makes it appear as if “the” Muslim community lacks any internal diversity. Muslims can be of any ethnicity and have varying attitudes with regards to how and when they practise their religion. Muslims also have different attitudes to, and ideas about, issues such as feminism, gender and sexuality. To lump them all into one category is to overlook the diversity of Muslim communities.

4) It’s different for men and women

Women and men do not experience Islamophobia in the same way. Women are more likely to experience anti-Muslim sentiment, particularly if they are wearing a headscarf, hijab or burka. In fact, 61% of Islamophobic incidents reported to Tell MAMA in 2015 were against women, and 75% of these victims were visibly Muslim. For Muslim men, markers of Muslimness – such as having a beard, brown skin or wearing “Asian clothes” – increase the likelihood of them experiencing Islamophobia. Although men were less likely to experience Islamophobia than women, when they did, it was similar in nature, including verbal abuse, physical assault and threatening behaviour.

The responses to these different forms of Islamophobia by those who experience it are also variable. Our research found that young people demonstrate resilience to so-called banter and name-calling. But for others, Islamophobia may mean subtle forms of avoidance and exclusion, such as being stared at, not having someone sit next to you on the bus or experiencing a general sense of social distance.

Anti-Islamic sentiment is also experienced in the workplace – 100% of participants in a small focus group recently said that they had directly experienced, witnessed, or have family members who had experienced discrimination in the workplace. Some Muslims may be reluctant to challenge such forms of discrimination as a result of what they see as aggressive secularism and feel silenced as a result.